Stevens said he came to the conclusion reluctantly, changing his mind about Kavanaugh's nomination after the second round of the judge's confirmation hearings last week. "It's not so clear that, you know, I think going forward, that sort of middle position, you know, it's not so clear whether we'll have it".

Stevens, who retired in 2010 after 35 years on the bench, stands as one of the longest-serving justices in history.

He appeared poised to be confirmed after days of wild confirmation hearings in early September, but his future was thrown into doubt when psychology professor Christine Blasey Ford's sexual assault allegations against the judge surfaced in the New Yorker and Washington Post weeks later.

Current and former justices on the Supreme Court, in keeping with their traditional reluctance to engage in heated political matters for fear of compromising the court's appearance of neutrality, generally have not weighed in on the allegations surrounding Kavanaugh. Wrapping up, Stevens says that Senators need to be aware of Kavanaugh's partisan attitudes and that it would be unhealthy to bring on a judge that would "only do a part-time job".

Trump, himself accused by numerous women during the 2016 presidential race of sexual misconduct, wrote on Twitter that the Federal Bureau of Investigation report showed that the allegations against Kavanaugh were 'totally uncorroborated'.